Taketori monogatari, or "Tale of the Bamboo Cutter", is a very old folktale, and has long been considered the "granddaddy of all Japanese tales." It offers some deftly drawn portraits of people behaving well and badly, with insight and humor, along with what some have called early science fiction. 
The passages presented here are set up as a portal, or way in, to getting started in classical Japanese. If you're ready to read, hear and learn from them, just click below.